Mark Wahlberg to Produce Boston Marathon Bombing Film ‘Patriots’ Day’

Mark Wahlberg is on his way back to Boston to pursue a leading role in an upcoming CBS Films project about the events surrounding the five-day manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, an alleged co-conspirator in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

Wahlberg, a Massachusetts native, has already been announced as a producer of the project, titled Patriots’ Day, and Deadline reports the actor hopes to play the role of Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis.

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Commissioner Davis was present at the marathon finish line, but walked away to answer his phone just moments before the April 15, 2013 explosion that left three people dead and an additional 264 wounded.

Per Deadline, Patriots’ Day will follow Davis’s account of the events, as he immediately played a major role in collaborating with the FBI, the Watertown Police, the Boston Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police — along with first responders — to identify and hunt down the two terrorists.

After an unprecedented manhunt, which included an order to put the city of Boston on lockdown, the commissioner’s efforts helped authorities catch up to Dzhokhar and his older brother Tamerlan, who was killed after a skirmish with police.

CBS has acquired Davis’s life rights and will be using a 2013 60 Minutes segment following the ordeal as a project compass. Michael Radutzky, who acts as senior producer and head of the creative development unit for 60 Minutes, will also co-produce the project.

Deadline also reports Patriots’ Day will compete with 20th Century Fox’s upcoming project, titled Boston Strong, which also covers the events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.